


Flower Crowns and Leather Jackets

by AndrewXavier



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Fluff, Gay Harley Keener, Gay Peter Parker, Identity Reveal, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Rocker!Harley, Steven Universe References, because i cant write that, but no homophobia, i would cry, mentions of homophobes, pinning, soft!Peter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-09-28 18:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20430638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndrewXavier/pseuds/AndrewXavier
Summary: Peter Parker is soft. Harley Keener isn't. When the two come together under Tony, what can happen?Rated Teen and Up for cussing and innuendos





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So  
I've literally been working on this for like 2 months?   
that being said, this is the only chapter I had but i have a full ass detailed plot, an entire playlist on spotify to write to, and yeahhhh. Not sure on how many chapters this will be.  
Not sure about an update schedule yet, but it will most likely be on Fridays or Sundays.   
Not all chapters will be this long but I will try!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I got a beta and they're taking care of these first few chapters before we dive into the next chapter so if you're here because of an update, it's just me making sure that this is the best that it can be!

Peter Stark is, in all ways, soft. His room is pastel pink. His bed, while still being a bunk, doesn’t have another bed under it. Instead, there are pastel blue, pink and purple beanbags. A soft white faux fur rug is in the middle of the space under his king-sized bed, with bookshelves surrounding it. The wall next to it has fairy lights with clothespins for pictures. The pictures there are all of his friends and people he loved - the decathlon team after winning nationals, Ned laughing as they build Legos, MJ reading a book, Tony and his boyfriend, and, of course, Tony and him. Pictures of him growing up with his father, pictures of him as a baby with Pepper and Happy. There’s the only picture of his mother he has, holding him in the hospital before she passed away. There are pictures of his mother’s sister, May, and her husband, Ben, with Peter when he was still a kid. The massive bed itself has a pastel blue weighted blanket (that surprisingly helps with Peter’s nightmares) and a few stuffed animals. A soft bear that Peter’s mom had gotten him when she was pregnant, a little golden retriever that his Uncle Ben gave him for his birthday when he was 5, and a white cat with a pastel green bow around it that Peter had bought himself. They all sit at the head of his bed, and Peter cuddles them all every night. The room was only lit by fairy lights that lined the walls, little white flowers glowing. The furniture he uses daily is all white, and all decorations fit his aesthetic of not too loud or bright, but soft and pure. 

It isn’t just the aesthetically pleasing room that caused Ned and MJ to call him a “soft boi uwu.” Peter’s clothing was mostly oversized soft sweaters and hoodies. Almost all are pastel or have a pastel theme. He even has a pastel gay pride flag on a white sweater. For pants, he was usually in either soft blue jeans or light gray sweatpants, but he does have a pair of light blue overalls with flower patches. His soft brown curls are usually topped with flower crowns to fulfill the effeminate appearance that Peter loved to have. He is a soft boy, and not just in appearances. Anyone who interacts with Peter (minus the bullies) will attest that the teenager is the kindest, most cheerfully shy person they will probably ever meet. 

So, Tony is scared when Harley Keener, a boy known for his tough exterior, calls and asks for a place to stay. He hopes that, once both boys are in the lab, they will be able to get along. But, Peter’s entire personality clashes harshly with the sarcastic, “I don’t give a fuck about you” attitude that Harley possesses. He hopes - even prays for the first time in decades - that the two will put aside their differences. After all, Tony was planning on having them become CEO and COO of Stark industries. If they will take it, of course. And them not getting along will probably be bad for that. 

So, Tony gives Harley rules. No bullying Peter, help make sure Peter is safe at school (because Tony knows there’s something happening there that Peter refuses to talk about), and don’t go crazy and blow up the lab. Harley needs a place, so he agrees. He’s not the type to bully, and he figures that if this guy is as likable as Tony says, it won’t be too much of an issue at school. He can probably just ignore Peter until they need to work together. 

So, that’s why Harley is currently in the elevator of Stark tower with the Tony Stark. Leather jacket, motorcycle helmet, and a backpack with things Tony couldn’t buy, the only things he has. Harley figures the dude’s a billionaire, he can help make sure Harley has more clothing. He had spent the past 11 hours on a motorcycle, so he honestly just wants to get fed and go to bed. His plans of finding something mildly edible and crashing out the moment that the elevator doors open to the floor he would be on. But - then he sees Peter Stark.

Peter is on the couch, mug in hand, eyes glued to the TV. He’s in pajamas - a soft white set that has pastel iron man helmets all over. Around his shoulders is a white fluffy blanket that looks softer than anything Harley has ever seen. Peter looks to Harley and gives a smile that’s even softer than the blanket he’s in. He sets down the mug as Harley steps into the room. The movement isn’t his own doing - Tony has his hand on Harley’s back. Even if he has to reach up due to the height difference. Harley’s body just reacts so that he won’t make a fool of himself in front of this angel that must be Tony’s infamous son.

The smaller teenager gets up and walks over, blanket still on his shoulders as he holds out his hand saying, “Hi, I’m Peter!” with a smile that melts Harley’s heart. He takes the hand and shakes it. 

“Harley.” 

“Hey, Petey can you show Harley to his room? And maybe you should change since we’re going out for dinner. While my ego is boosted every time you wear those, I don’t think it’s exactly restaurant appropriate.” 

“Sure thing Dad!” 

Peter deposits the blanket back on the couch as he chugs whatever was in the mug. He automatically makes a face of pain and Harley can hear Tony sigh. 

“Kiddo, didn’t you just make that hot chocolate?” 

“Yeahhh,” Peter says with a sheepish grin on his face

“Did that hurt?”

“Mayhaps” Peter turns away from his dad, cutting off the man’s words. “So, your room is right across from mine! We have this entire floor to ourselves, and guest bedrooms in case someone decides to visit. Above us is the penthouse. I can give you a full tour either after dinner or tomorrow!” Peter’s chocolate brown doe eyes lock onto Harley’s. Tony’s hand is no longer on his back and the elevator doors are shutting behind him, presumably with the billionaire inside.

“Cool” Harley squeaks out as he feels a blush come onto his face.  _ Shit  _

Peter doesn’t mention the blush on Harley’s face or the squeak as he walks down a hallway next to the TV. Harley follows and sees two doors. 

“My room is on the left, yours is on the right. Dad got a lot of things and put them into your room. He usually finds stuff by looking through search histories and conversations I think, since he bought me a few things I only searched for on google. Course, FRIDAY or Karen could have gotten them too.” Peter ends the sentence standing next to his door, looking to Harley.

“Who?”

“Oh, FRIDAY is Dad’s AI. She’s everywhere in the tower, so if you have any questions you can just ask them and she’ll answer. You probably have the same clearance as me, which basically just means you’ll need Dad’s permission for going into his lab. Karen is an AI Dad made for me since I didn’t like having FRIDAY snooping.” Peter gives Harley another smile and Harley’s face begins to turn even redder.

“Oh. Thanks.” Harley gives a tight-lipped smile and walks into the room designated as his, leaning back on the door with a sigh before looking around the dark blue, almost black room. 

To his right is a desk with a toolbox on it. Next to the desk on the right wall is a door that Harley assumes is a walk-in closet because Tony is just that extra. The wall opposite of Harley is a massive window. In the right corner of the wall with the window is a dresser. Why there is a presumably massive closet and a dresser, Harley has no clue. Maybe it’s just because Tony’s a billionaire. Or maybe the closet only has formal wear? That’s highly likely. On the opposite side of the room is a massive king-sized bed. At the foot is a black chest. Next to the chest is a door, which is opened to where Harley can see the massive bathtub. To his left is an entertainment system, with a massive TV, all the recent consoles, bookshelves filled with videogames and large speakers. But, the thing that catches Harley’s eye is in the middle of the room. A sleek black acoustic guitar with an amp and headphones. The body has a white decal of Harley’s name. He wants to marry it. He questions the amp before looking over the guitar and realizing it’s an acoustic/electric guitar, something Harley had only ever dreamed of being able to afford before.

He decides that changing into something more formal for the presumably fancy restaurant that Tony is taking them out to would be the better choice of things to do from the list in his head as he looks around the room. He walks to the closet and peers in to see dozens of suits, button-up shirts, slacks and khakis. He quickly pulls on a long sleeve dark blue button-up shirt and black slacks. He even changes his biking boots to a pair of dress shoes. The one thing that isn’t “fancy” that Harley puts on is his leather jacket. You just can’t expect him to not wear it. It makes him feel safe, and he doesn’t know exactly what to expect from dinner with the Starks. He peers into the dresser and sees underwear, socks, sweatpants, t-shirts and a few pajama sets. That just proves his theory on the dresser and closet front.

When he leaves his room and ventures into the hallway, he can’t see Peter. He shrugs, thinking perhaps that the other boy decided to take a shower, since he can faintly hear one. He sits on the couch to wait and pulls out his phone, calling his sister.

“So you didn’t die?” Abbie’s voice relaxes Harley slightly

“Well that’s rude. I don’t even get a hello.” Harley leans back and props his feet up on an ottoman in front of the couch.

“Hello, assbutt. You didn’t die?” He can hear her eyes rolling. 

“Nope. I’m very much alive.”

“Spill.” Abbie’s demanding tone makes Harley roll his eyes.

“About what?” He shakes his head with a sigh in annoyance.

“Your new crush. And don’t say you don’t have one. I know what you sound like when you like straight boys.” 

“There’s nothin sayin Peter is straight.” Harley grumbles out as a blush begins to form.

“So he has a name.” The smirk in Abbie’s voice is surely on her face.

“Shut up Abbie.” He almost growls out the words.

“Wait, you don’t mean Peter Stark do you?”

“Shut UP Abbie.” He definitely growls out the words. Damn his sister and her intelligence. Though, he figures that it’s just logic. He is staying with Tony Stark.

“Ohmygod it is. You have to send me a picture of what he looks like! no one knows except for like, the people at his school.” 

“Uh, no. I think the old man would murder me.” He says it with so much conviction that it would make the most determined person stand down.

“Ugh fine. Well, gotta go and finish my homework. Love you Harls. Thanks for calling in.”

“Love you too, stinker.” 

Harley hangs up before he can hear Abbie’s retort and decides to scroll through Instagram while he waits for everyone to be ready. He rolls his eyes at the usual antics of the few friends he had left in Rose Hill. He thinks for a second before unfollowing them all. He had no reason to keep them there. Most of them were just his “friends” because they’re the only LGBT allies in Rose Hill. He decides to delete everything on his own account to restart it, like his life in NYC will be more photogenic. He wonders who he could follow and decides he’ll ask Tony and Peter. He is going to the same school as Peter, at least that’s what Harley thinks from the rules Tony had given him.

When he heard a door close in the silence he looks to the hallway. Peter comes out and Harley realizes just what type of aesthetic the 5’6” teenager has. He’s in a pale blue knit sweater that is just a tad too big, pale gray skinny jeans, and light pink high tops. Harley’s heart seems to beat faster as he looks at Peter’s face and head. His hair is slightly damp, as if he had dried it with a towel instead of a hairdryer. The natural large curls are surrounded by a flower crown. The crown is made of large pale pink and blue fake flowers, with smaller pale yellow ones in the gaps. His eyelids had pale pink on them, with a light pink pigment on his lips. Something was making him glow under the artificial lights.  _ Holy shit he looks angelic  _ Harley thinks to himself.

Peter’s looking at Harley nervously. Harley gives a big smile and ignores the thoughts that are running through his mind that he would visit at a later, more  _ private  _ time. Peter visibly relaxes, shoulders slumping as he walks over to Harley. 

“I bet you weren’t thinking that I would look like this.” Peter gives a small smile as he sits on the couch. Not right next to Harley, but close enough that they could talk without being too loud. 

“I didn’t have expectations for you. I mean yeah, Tony told me a little about you when he broke into my garage, but that was years ago. Anything that he said then either evolved or was disregarded in the past 5 years.” Harley shrugs and Peter looks at him closely.

“What, uhh, what did he tell you about me?” Peter’s gaze is curious and Harley gives a small smile as he remembers when the old man had come into his garage.

“Well, he told me that you’re smart, like flowers, and that you’re probably going to be the genius of our generation.” Harley answers truthfully. Under his breath he mutters, “He said nothin about you bein the more gorgeous person on earth which is so unfair” 

Peter’s face grows faintly pink, as if he could hear Harley’s low tone. Before Harley can ask about it, however, the elevator doors open and out comes Tony. He smiles and Peter quickly gets up to stand by his father.

“Hey kiddo, your flower crown looks good. Is that the one you were working on last night? Oh and the eyeshadow matches it, how lovely.” Tony’s tone is as soft as his gaze, a smile on his lips that is reserved only for the short teen.

Peter’s smile grows as he responds happily, “Yeah! I decided to use my leftover yellows from the pride one because the gaps between the blue and pink was too noticeable. I think it turned out really good!” 

“It sure did, kiddo,” Tony’s tone and smile shifts from the soft ones that he was gracing Peter with as he addressed both teenagers, “Now, let’s go out. And you are going to see what a proper tuna sandwich looks like.” Tony points at Harley as he speaks. Harley joins the Starks in the elevator and the doors close. The elevator begins to move automatically and within seconds they are at the garage. 

“Is doc going to be eating with us?” Peter asks as Tony waves to Happy. 

“Uh, I don’t think so, kiddo. He’ll be here tomorrow though.” Tony puts a hand on Peter’s shoulder and one on Harley’s back, leading them to the car door that happy had opened.

Harley looks at them in confusion and Peter notices and begins to explain.

“Doc is Dad’s boyfriend. I call him Doc or Doctor Dad when I really want something. He’s a sorcerer!” 

“I didn’t know magic exists.” Harley slipped into the car first, followed by Peter and then Tony.

“Well you do now. He’s very important and has a flying cape.” Tony motions for the boys to put on seat belts, and they do so.

“Dad, it’s a cloak!” Peter rolls his eyes and shakes his head as he pulls out his phone.

“Whatever.” 

They fall into a comfortable silence as the driver begins to navigate to wherever Tony has decided they will eat. Harley tries to ignore Peter’s leg pressed against his own, but there’s not enough room for it to be any different. 

When they arrive, Tony exits first. Peter follows and Harley comes out last. They are in front of a clearly fancy restaurant and Tony walks in quickly. Peter follows his father at the same speed, but Harley takes a moment to appreciate the red awning and cursive wording in bright yellow lights. He walks inside after a moment and stands next to Tony as he requests a table for 3. 

When they get to the booth, Harley sits down first. Peter slips in next to Harley and Tony sits across from them. They all take a moment to look for drinks and order before Tony begins talking. 

“Alright kiddies, appetizer, entree and dessert for both of you, so start looking. How about calamari?” 

“I’m not too sure, Dad. Some places serve pig anuses instead of squid.” Peter casually says.

Harley looks at Peter with a shocked expression. “They serve what?” his whisper is full of surprise and disgust. Peter nods and Harley shakes his head.

“Nope, how about lobster rolls?” Tony captures both of the teeangers’ attentions. They nod and move onto entrees. When the server comes around, Tony orders for himself and Peter. Harley orders for himself and they hand the menus to the server with smiles all around. They fall into comfortable conversation as they wait for their food. 

“How was the ride up kid?” Tony looks to Harley as he takes a sip of the coffee he had ordered. 

“Long. Didn’t see much of anythin. Stopped by a diner for lunch and had some killer fries. The burger was good, but I wish I had enough money to get gas and the other burger option they had. It was stuffed with cheese? I might have to make somethin like it.” Harley finishes with a sip from the coke he had ordered. 

“I think we have some blue cheese. That could make an interesting flavor, if you’re not picky,” Peter’s soft voice pipes in as the teen takes a picture of his strawberry cream soda. Tony chuckles as the teen’s actions, causing Peter to look up and take a picture of Tony, who makes a goofy face with his tongue out, nose scrunched up and eyes crossed.

“Yeah, and with that we wouldn't need to add too much so the risk of them exploding or somethin bein too big.” Harley pulls out his phone and begins to look up recipes.

“Hold on, you still have a shitty phone? That’s it, when we get back you’re getting one of the unreleased models that runs off of F.R.I.D.A.Y. That way no one will be able to hack into you and no matter what you’ll be able to contact me. Unless you go into space. Which none of us will ever have a reason to.” Tony pulls out his phone and begins to type. 

“Hey Dad, can Ned come over after school Monday? He got a new lego set and his little sister keeps on trying to steal it.” 

Peter’s words cause a small pain in Harley. Was Ned a boyfriend? He could be. What if Peter isn’t even gay? Although the mention of a pride flower crown suggested otherwise. Yellow is in a lot of pride flags, not just the gay flag either. Maybe he is pan? Or nonbinary? Wait, why does it matter? Harley’s thoughts are interrupted as the appetizer is placed in the middle of their table with three small plates. Tony gives a smile to the server and grabs one of the mini lobster rolls and a plate. Harley places the other two plates in front of himself and Peter without a second thought and grabs a lobster roll for himself. 

The trio doesn’t talk as they eat. Peter looks at memes, Harley looks at recipes, and Tony is texting his magical af boyfriend. Harley ignores people asking him why he unfollowed them, ignores the questions of where he is, and mostly ignores how Peter’s leg brushes his gently every few minutes. Tony finishes first, and he watches the two teenagers as they finish. Harley finishes second and begins to ask Tony to buy different ingredients for his culinary master plan. 

“I wanna be able to make my own buns, ya’ know? That way I can make sure they go with the flavor of the burger perfectly an’ not overpower it.” Harley shows Tony the recipe he’s decided will be best for the buns. 

“Yeah, some places have too much bun and not enough meat. There’s a fast food place - Petey was it Sonic or Burger King that had too much bread?” 

Peter looks at his dad as he finishes the lobster roll. “Oh, Sonic. You could hardly taste the meat. They have tater tots though, which I can get behind.” 

“Yeah, we’re gonna taste the meat in these. And the cheese. I’m debating on something fancy for the cheese on top or not. These are kinda fancy already, but I don’t know if I should go the whole way or not.” Harley takes back his phone from Tony, who has the ingredients of the buns on his phone for the split-second Harley can see the screen. 

“I say go full steam ahead. Find the fanciest cheese that will go with the flavors.” Tony smiles at Harley and thinks for a second before, “Okay, both of you scooch closer. I’m taking a picture of this.” 

“Wha-why?” Peter looks to his father with curiosity, while Harley’s gaze could be described as more surprised. His eyes are wide, his mouth is dry, and he quickly drinks his coke and focuses on the bubbles in the drink to avoid looking at either Stark.

“Well, better now than later. Eyes up, Keener this is important.” Harley flushed red and tore himself away from the drink, leaning back and looking at the man. He didn’t know what to do with his arms, so he folded them over his chest, rubbing on the worn leather of his jacket.

“Peter, as you know you have the option to be CEO if you want it-” 

“And you know I want to, so that it will have one more blood Stark before that’s impossible.” Peter’s interruption makes Harley wonder what he means with “before that’s impossible”. Could it be? Is Peter gay? 

“Yes, but as I was saying, right now Pep is acting as both CEO and COO. After thinking about it for quite a while - since 2014 or so - I think that Harley might be a good fit for COO. Now, you don’t have to. I can find-”

“Sure.” Harley’s reply is casual, almost bored in tone. But inside he’s jumping up and down like a little girl who just was given not only a pony, but a princess castle that had magical creatures like fairies and talking animals in it all to herself. 

“What?” Tony looks at him, surprised. He had been thinking that it would take more convincing. 

“I’ll take it up. Not to bash on you or anything, old man, but Miss Potts is probably the most capable woman and even she seems stressed to me. Now, nothin about you Peter, but that kind of stress needs to be alleviated. You had gray hairs in your 20’s, old man. Can’t have Petey here turn out the same.” Harley shrugs and the server along with another person in an apron come up. 

“Alright, I have a Tuna sandwich for you,” they place the sandwich in front of Tony, “shrimp linguine for the cutie, love the flower crown,” the server places a plate of noodles with shrimp mixed in front of Peter who flushed a little, quietly thanking them, “And for the rockstar we have crab mac n cheese.” They finish with a large bowl of mac n cheese with breadcrumbs and crab in front of Harley. “Enjoy your meals, guys!” The server leaves with a smile.

“Now, Harley, notice how the tuna isn't completely saturated with mayo and has more than just tuna! Such elegance.” Tony takes the top off his sandwich to show Harley, a teasing smile across his face.

“Shut it old man, and eat that before I steal it and add mac n cheese.” Harley takes a bite of the pasta and almost moans. It’s that good. The crab mixes with the cheese surprisingly well and the noodles are perfectly al dente. He takes his time to appreciate it and almost cries when he takes the last bite of crabby cheesy goodness. 

He looks up for the first time since the food was placed in front of him when a dessert menu hits him. 

“Choose something.” Tony says pointing at the menu. Harley takes the menu and looks over it, wondering what he would get. He’s pleased to see a dark chocolate cake that looks good. The server comes back, and once more Tony orders for himself and Peter while Harley orders for himself. 

“So, Harles, you’re enrolled in the same school Peter goes to. You guys have some classes together and lunch. I also got a map printed for you with all of your classes marked, it’s back at the tower. You’ll be starting on Monday.” 

“Cool.” 

The silence is mildly awkward as all three look at their phones. Harley finally decides to respond to people black in Rose Hill. He sends a mass text to everyone that he doesn’t want to talk to, “Hey ya’ll. I’m no longer in Rose Hill, in fact, I’m in NYC. I’m leavin that shithole behind and never comin back unless it’s to see Abbie. So piss off so I don’t have to block ya” 

He hits send as the desserts come to the table. Peter had gotten an ice cream sundae with vanilla ice cream and strawberries, Tony has a coffee cake and Harley got the dark chocolate cake, which came with caramel ice cream. They all quickly finish and leave, the car they had arrived in already pulled up to the curb as the exited the establishment (after Tony had paid and given a large tip). Once more they were all in the back of a car, Harley and Peter’s legs pressed together. 

“I never got the picture! Guys! We need the picture!” Tony took out his phone and turned to the two teenagers. “C’mon, at least try!” 

Harley, who was behind Peter in the camera’s view, turned and put his arm around the shorter boy. He plastered on one of his signature smirks whilst the shorter just smiled shyly. Tony took a picture and nodded.

“Good. Now, both of you are leaving the tower at eight. Get some sleep. I’ll be in my lab once we get back.” Tony turned away from them and the two teenagers did the same.

“You better get some sleep tonight, dad. Otherwise, doc will put you under another one of those sleeping things and you’ll have Pep coming for your head, since you have that really important brunch tomorrow with that Japanese company.” Peter pulls out his phone to open a photo editing app to mess with the pictures he had taken at dinner. 

“Alright. I want you two to try and bond or something tonight. You’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, so it’s better just to get the awkwardness away.” 

“Tony, I am literally going to pass out within the hour. I drove a motorcycle all the way from Tennessee. We have an entire weekend, we’ll bond then.” Harley pops his neck and leans back into the seat, opening his phone to play a game. 

The ride is silent and soon, they are back at the tower. True to his word, Harley goes into his room, puts on pajamas and passes out. The last thought as he slips into slumber include that of a short boy with large brown curls and soft chocolate eyes. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this has an anxiety attack and like mentions of homophobes but no actual homophobia  
also like the first 6 episodes of steven universe.  
i have no idea how i got this out in a day

To say that Peter is a little scared of Harley is accurate. He knew realistically that his dad wouldn't bring someone who would hurt Peter into their home (not again. Never again). But, still. Harley has the aesthetic that Flash does. So, Peter is a little wary of the other teenager. Flash may not achieve the same look as the teenager currently in the kitchen, but there are some solid attempts. Though, Flash doesn’t exactly pull off leather jackets as well as Harley. (Wait, why is Peter thinking that?)

When Harley is up before Peter and making breakfast, the youngest Stark doesn’t know if he should trust the meal or not. He decides to try it, giving the darker teenager a chance. That is, if there will be any for Peter. He had asked his father if the other teen knew of Peter’s extracurriculars of swinging around the city and stopping crime near his Aunt’s apartment. The older Stark had said no, so it’s not likely that Harley would know how much Peter needs to eat. Plus, it wasn’t even a guarantee that Harley would make anything for Peter. He might have to just eat an entire box of cereal and call it good. Though, the massive amount of waffles on a pair of cooling racks might suggest that Peter won’t be munching on some Honey Bunches Of Oats.

Harley looks at Peter as the shorter teen sits at a barstool in front of the island and gives him a sleepy smile. The taller teen was in a red and gold set of pajamas with a black apron over them. The apron was almost entirely clean, just a smudge of white on the chest. 

“Mornin, sugar,” Harley says as he flips a waffle out of the maker. “We might have a lot of waffles, since I was too tired to properly read the recipe and accidentally made double the original yield.” Harley rolls his eyes at himself and Peter giggles. 

“I’m sure it will be fine. I have a really fast metabolism and tend to eat a lot.” Peter watches as Harley pours more batter into the maker. “Do you need any help?” He asks shyly. 

“Uh, yeah can you make some coffee? That machine looks scary to me and I don’t want to mess anything up.” Harley nods to the coffee machine that Tony had designed. 

“Sure thing.” Peter gets up and pulls some coffee beans from the freezer. He grinds them up, mumbling “Seriously dad, just because we’re rich and you love coffee doesn't mean that we only have to have whole beans all the time! I can do this but it’s still annoying first thing in the morning, I mean c’mon.” He finishes the task and grabs a filter, tossing out the old one and putting in the new one before filling it with the recently ground up coffee. He takes the pot and rinses it out before filling it with water and pouring it into the reservoir. Peter turns it on and goes back to his seat, watching Harley. 

“So, you have a lot of cereal,” Harley said casually as he pulled bacon out of the oven. He took off the bacon and set it on a paper towel lined plate before pouring some of the grease into a frying pan. He takes a mason jar that has a coffee filter over the opening and pours the rest of the fat into the jar.

“Yeah, I usually just eat cereal for breakfast. Plus sometimes my friends stay over so they eat it too.” Peter watches as Harley turns on the burner under the frying pan and pours in an eggy mixture. 

“Well, I like to cook so there’s high chances that you might have an option from now on.” Harley turns to Peter with a grin before turning to the maker as it started beeping and pulling out the waffles, pouring the last of the batter into the machine. “Can you watch over that? Just take it out when it’s done and let it cool, I need to keep an eye on these eggs.” 

“Sure thing!” Peter moved to where he was in front of the waffle machine, his back to Harley. 

“Do you like cheese?” 

“Who doesn't?” 

“Okay, do you mind if I add some to the eggs?” 

“Nope!” 

The waffle maker beeps and Peter quickly moves the hot waffles to the cooling rack. He gets out the maple syrup and takes out two plates, setting them next to the first cooling rack of waffles. He puts the syrup by the barstools and retrieves utensils as well. 

“How do you like your coffee?” Peter asks as he takes out two coffee cups. 

“Black,” Harley replied. Peter hums and pours out one cup of plain coffee before pouring another one and adding some vanilla creamer and a little bit of sugar. 

Once the eggs are done, Harley takes one of the plates and puts 4 waffles on it. He adds two of the 6 bacon strips and half of the eggs. Peter takes the other plate and loads a full stack of 6 waffles, takes two strips of bacon and the rest of the eggs. Peter sits where he had put his coffee cup, to the left of Harley. 

The two eat in silence, Peter waking up thanks to the bean juice. He takes a second serving of the waffles as Harley goes to take a shower, leaving his dishes in the sink along with everything that it took to make the meal. Peter decides that it would be a nice thing to clean everything, so he gets to work. He clears out the sink, filling one side with hot soapy water and the other with room temperature water. He takes the big things and cleans them first; the molds for the waffles, the pan for the eggs and the bowls used for both. He rinses out the warm water when it looks cloudy and decides to replace the rinsing water as well. He cleans off the rest as he hears Harley’s shower stop. Peter sets the dishes on a drying rack and moves to his room to get into some day clothes. He enters his room the moment he hears Harley’s door open. 

He debates on wearing his pride sweater. He sighs and decides to do so, sliding the mostly white fabric over his head. He decides to put on a pair of light gray sweatpants. He pats at his hair and slips on a pair of pale gray moccasins before going to the living room.

Harley is sitting on the couch, remote in hand as he flicks through the different channels. Peter slowly walks in, waiting for the reaction to his sweater. Sure, Tony wouldn’t let a known homophobe into the tower. But what if Harley isn’t a  _ known  _ homophobe? What if he’s homophobic but only in private? What if he thinks less of Peter? 

Peter recognizes he’s having an anxiety attack. But he doesn't recognize any way for him to get out of it. Usually his dad comes and helps, but his dad is busy. Sometimes Stephen comes in, but Peter highly doubts that Stephen is even nearby. He tries to remember what to do; a breathing pattern that’s slipping away from his grasp, he knows there are things that one can count but  _ he can’t think of what they are _ and he can hear FRIDAY saying something but he can’t understand it’s too much input, too much noise, too much light too much-

A warm hand settles on his shoulder. He blinks. A voice is saying numbers. His hand finds its way (maybe due to the sudden warmth around his wrist?) to something that goes up and then down. A chest. Match the breathing. Okay, he can do that. He tries - first time unsuccessful. He tries again. And again. He tries until he can begin to process. 

Harley is in front of him, eyes scanning him and hand on his shoulder. Peter is almost thrown back into a panic when he realizes this. But Harley gives him a smile and he understands that it’s okay. Peter’s breathing becomes normal. But he still feels weak. His senses are a little overwhelmed. But then they’re not. He realizes that FRIDAY must have activated the post anxiety attack protocol (baby got scared) because there are shutters on the windows and he can no longer hear what’s happening at the base of the tower. The lights dim and Peter realizes that he had a slight headache. 

Peter relaxes and looks at Harley. The blond was sitting in front of him, his hand now running through the edgy teen’s wavy hair. Blue eyes were scanning him, concern evident on his face. Instead of the pajama set he was in earlier, he’s in a t-shirt for a band that Peter knows and likes, but it doesn’t exactly fit the entire aesthetic Peter lives in. He’s also in sweatpants, but his are black. Peter gives him a small smile and Harley returns his own. Peter moves to get up on shaky legs, only to have Harley follow and help support him. The two make their way to the couch and Peter sighs in relief as he sinks into the cushions. 

“Do you need anything?” Harley asks softly.

“I- there are some painkillers in my bathroom. They’re in just a plain white bottle with a Spider-Man face on it.” Peter says, hoping that Harley will just think he likes Spider-Man. 

The taller nods and moves down the hallway. He comes back a moment later, handing the pill bottle to Peter. He moves to get a glass of water and hands it to Peter. Peter nods in appreciation and takes two of the pills with a sip of water. He places the cup on the table along with the bottle of pills. 

“I don’t think less of you for having anxiety,” Harley says as he sits on the couch, “Your dad had them when he was dealing with me as a pre-teen. So I learned how to help if someone had them.” Harley glances at the sweater and then back to Peter’s eyes. “Nice sweater, by the way.” 

Peter smiles and relaxes even more into the couch. He thinks for a moment on what to do when bonding. And, for some reason, that involves Mario Kart. It makes sense, the first thing he did with Ned outside of school was Mario Kart. 

“Want to play some Mario Kart?” Peter asks. 

“Sure I guess. But I will annihilate you.” Harley gives Peter a smirk and Peter laughs.

“You are  _ on  _ Keener.” Peter gets up and grabs the controllers before asking FRIDAY to get the game on. They are quickly drawn into the game, the competitive spirit causing both of them to get way too into it. Peter pulls his knees to his chest as he starts his final lap in second place, his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. He hugs his legs as he gets his item box and grins wildly at the blue shell. Harley doesn’t notice. Peter grins and shoots the shell, laughing as he passes Harley who begins to cuss. 

Peter crosses the finish line first and jumps up in glee, shaking his hands and hips as he laughs. He purposely falls back into the couch, turning to Harley. 

Now, if you were to ask Harley why he was staring at Peter instead of finishing the round, he would say something about Peter winning meant that he didn’t really have to finish the race, or that Peter had startled him by jumping up. 

But the real reason is that Harley was staring because Peter looks absolutely  _ adorable  _ when he dances in victory. And Harley is, quite honestly, having a gay panic. Because he was sure that the infatuation that he has been experiencing ever since his eyes landed on Peter is developing into something much more. 

As Peter settles back into a ball on the couch, Harley finishes in 4th place. Peter turns as Harley begins to speak, “Best of three.” 

“Alright, Keener. But I will destroy you.” Peter says in a low dangerous tone. He perks up with, “But first hot cocoa! Do you want some more coffee?” Peter smiles bright, showing off his teeth that were perfectly straight (thanks to genetics, surprisingly) and so white that they could probably blind someone if the light hits right. 

They play once more and this time, Harley is able to win just barely. He celebrates the victory with a fist pump and a wicked grin. The last round, they decide, needs to be difficult. So, with an evil glint in his eyes (that Harley thinks is hot but shouldn't exist like seriously  _ h o w _ ) Peter selects Rainbow Road. 

Now, Harley knows that Peter will probably be happy if he wins. And Harley also knows that he would rather see that (and possibly hear Peter’s laugh which to him sounds like angels are singing and  _ why is this boy making Harley Keener so soft he’s fucking  _ ** _Harley Keener_ ** ) instead of the possible sadness that he doesn’t exactly know will happen if Peter loses. So, when they’re neck and neck, Harley decides to sacrifice himself (and his pride) to let Peter win. 

Peter jumps up, happy. He laughs and dances around more, pumping his fist into the air and hopping from leg to leg as he twists his body around in glee. He’s really happy that he was able to beat Harley, he has a little bit of a losing streak against MJ and Ned. But this just proves that he  _ can  _ win! 

He looks to Harley and thinks for a moment. He doesn’t want to play any more Mario Kart for the time being, he still had a little bit of a headache. So, he thinks about what to do, when the best idea comes into his mind. 

“Have you watched Steven Universe?” 

“No?” 

“Good, we are going to binge all of it. The first season is kinda dumb, in my opinion, but it sets up everything. By the end of it is when things get really good. Plus, it’s really gay. It’s basically a story of a bunch of lesbian space rocks and one bisexual space rock’s kid.” 

“That...yeah that does sound interesting.” 

Peter pulls up Hulu and puts on the first episode and moves to the kitchen to make popcorn. They might not be able to finish all of the show, but he can see if Harley likes it, It might be a good way for the two to bond and Peter can share one of his favorite shows with Harley! 

Peter hums along with the theme song as he grabs a few of the packages of microwave popcorn. He pops the first one into the microwave and smiled as Harley laughed at Lars saying “I’m stocking here!” 

He pulls out the first of the packages and deposits it into a bowl and placed the second one in. He’s grateful for his Spidey-Sense working on when to pull out the popcorn to get as many kernals popped and no kernals burnt. By the time that the second bag is done and deposited, it’s almost time for Steven to sing the cookie cat song. 

Peter sings along as he comes in, sitting next to Harley with the popcorn between them. Harley looks at him laughing and turns back to the show, popping some of the popcorn in his mouth. Peter its the recliner button for his seat and also the one for Harley, in case he wants it. 

Harley shrieks for a second before realizing that it’s just a reclining seat and blushes slightly. Peter smiles and the two continue on watching the show. Harley really seems to like it and it makes Peter feel happy. He feels his heart warm up, but ignores it thinking that it’s just from rewatching his favorite show and not at all because when they both reach for popcorn their hands brush, or Harley’s laugh is deep and rumbling and makes Peter feel a little safe. 

When Greg makes his appearance, Peter teases, “That's what you’re gonna look like in 25 years.” 

Harley gasps and looks at the man on screen. “Why do you say that?” 

“Cos when he’s younger he looks like you but long hair. And that it’s brown but for some people blonde can change to brown.” Peter smiles at Harley and the other teenager shrugs. 

“Bet he doesn’t know how to play guitar.” 

“Wrong. He was a rockstar. Watch and one of his old songs will play near the end of this episode.” 

At the beginning of the 4th episode as Steven makes the “Together Breakfast”, Peter says, “It’s what would happen if we combined forces to make breakfast for dad.” 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Waffles and popcorn.”

“Ah.” 

They both groan at the pun “it’s in a stack so I guess you could say its a  _ balanced breakfast _ ” as they continue watching the show. As the gems keep on leaving Steven, Peter clenches his hands together. He knows that it wouldn’t be good to have another anxiety attack, so he decides to go take anti-anxiety medication that Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho made together when Peter told his dad he kept on having anxiety attacks. 

“I’ll be back in a minute, keep on watching,” he says as he gets up. He goes into his bathroom and quickly takes the pills from a blue bottle with a spider emblem on it. He takes one and drinks a little bit of water from the tap with it before heading back out to the living room, feeling the anxiety subside. 

During the climax of the cat finger episode, Harley looked at Peter with wide eyes. “This show just got really dark.”

“Yeah, it gets worse later.” 

“That’s concerning. This  _ is  _ a kid’s show right?” 

“Well yeah, but there’s a reason why it’s popular with teens and adults.” 

The show ended with cat puns that make Harley chuckle and Peter groan. Peter is surprised when he shivers as the next episode begins to play and grabs a blanket from off the back of the couch. It’s white with pastel yellow chevron patterning. He debates on making more hot cocoa as Harley gets up. 

“I need some more coffee, want some more cocoa?” 

“Yes please! Do you want me to pause the show?” 

“Nah, I can watch from the kitchen.” Harley smiles as he picks up Peter’s mug and goes to make the warm drinks. Peter turns back to the show as the intro finishes and the title screen comes on. 

“This is like one of the best of the early episodes!” Peter exclaims to Harley. 

“Yeah? Why?” 

“The girl in the intro, the one with the book? She’s introduced! Easily one of the coolest characters in this show. She’s a lot like my friend MJ in some ways. Mostly the loving books.” 

Harley comes back to watch the interactions, commenting on the ability for Connie and Steven to stay inside the bubble for as long as they do. Specifically how they wouldn’t last that long.

“I’m not giving anything away but I don’t think Steven really...needs oxygen.” 

“That...I’m concerned for where this show goes. It’s already gotten dark.” 

“Yeah…”

“But how did he have the water vapor to talk to Onion then?” 

“Maybe he had it from eating and drinking?” 

“This kid’s biology confuses me.”

“Well, he is half of a sentient rock.”

“Right.” 

As the episode ends, the elevator opens. Peter pauses the show to stop it from playing the next episode as he turns to see his dad grinning.

“Hey kiddos! What’s up?” He walks in and leans over the couch between them, wrapping arms around them both.

“I was showing Harley Steven Universe!” Peter smiles as Tony kisses his cheek and ruffles the younger Stark’s hair. 

“That’s cool underoos. Anything else done this morning?” Tony looks at Harley with a grin.

“Oh, Peter uh, beat me at Mario Kart.” Harley feels his face flush as he remembers Peter dancing, the sound of his carefree laugh and the way that his face had lit up. 

“Aw, is Harley Keener ashamed he lost?” Tony childishly asks. He gives a mock pout as Harley shoves the man away. 

“So, what’s poppin’ daddy-o?” Peter says before cringing at himself. “That ...I'm ashamed of myself

“How did you even say that? You sounded like you were from the 50's. Like Fonz said that once and you stole it.” Harley looks at Peter with eyebrows raised, a cheerful glint in his eyes. 

“Maybe I invented time travel and just spent a few months in the 50’s.” Peter retorts as he sits up straight, trying to think of things that would happen in the 50’s. Leather jackets? Yeah, leather jackets. He knows that Harley has one somewhere. He could use that. “In fact, I will go put on the outfit from the 50’s that I used to blend in.” Peter gets up and walks into the hallway, quietly asking FRIDAY where Harley’s leather jacket is. He runs into Harley’s room, not letting the door close and grabs it off of the chest before closing the door slowly so it wouldn't make any noise and darting to his room, doing the same trick. 

Peter pulls off his shoes and tries to find the only pair of black pants he has. They’re skinny and ripped, which he figures is good enough. He pulls on a white v-neck after discarding his sweater and slips into the too-big jacket. He walks back into the living room barefooted. Tony looks up first and lets out a single laugh before covering his mouth and shaking silently. Next to him, Harley looks up and turns red.

Harley really can’t believe what he’s looking at. Peter had taken his leather. What really surprises him is that he isn’t mad about it (like he had been any time that Abbie wore it or when the one other gay kid in Rose Hill wore it after a “date”) he actually really likes seeing Peter in the jacket. It makes the short boy look smaller and Harley really just wants to wrap him up in a giant blanket burrito and never let him leave. It also maybe turns him on just a little bit. He’s glad that he took the blanket Peter had been using and tossed it over his legs. 

“Cute.” Is all that Harley can think of to say as he turns back to the still paused TV. “Can we watch more of this show, sugar? I want to get to the good parts.” 

“Uh, yeah sure totally.” Peter feels himself turn red at Harley’s single comment and sits down once more. He pulls his legs up and takes his arms out of the sleeves of the jacket, wrapping them around his legs. He realises that he feels comfortable and warm in the jacket. It’s nice. His senses don’t need to be enhanced to smell Harley on the black garment. It smells a little bit like Tony does, but also a little bit different. Peter decides he likes it. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay, sure. Make me soft.” Harley says. Inside his mind, something whispers He’s already made you dolt, you dolt. You are letting him wear your leather jacket. Not only that, you're encouraging it! He can’t make you any softer than you’ve become. Harley ignores the (truthful) voice and watches Peter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll, got a beta who went over these first few chapters!   
If you draw art of any of this, i would love to see it. My tumblr is Hubofinsanity

After watching a few more episodes of Steven Universe with asks what the boys want to have for lunch.

“How about some pizza?” Peter asks. He hasn’t had pizza for a bit (which should be a crime) and really wants some.

“That sounds good Petey. Since my offspring always wants the same thing, what do you want Harley?” 

Harley tries to combine words, but ever since Peter had walked into the room wearing his jacket he’s had issues thinking. “Bacon and uh extra cheese?” His statement is more of a question, causing Tony to raise an eyebrow. 

“Are you actually wanting that or not? Gotta be more sure of yourself, kid.” Tony ruffles Harley’s hair and motions for him to try again. 

“I would like bacon and extra cheese on my pizza.” Harley nods as he finishes, Tony smiling. 

“Good, I thought you had lost that little flame of yours. Can’t have that.” Tony sighs. “Might as well go ask what Pep wants. Maybe the wizard will come-” 

As if on cue, a glowing circle appears to the right of Tony. Harley watches in confusion as Peter’s smile breaks into a massive grin. Peter gets up from the couch, the leather jacket still on his shoulders. The jacket is so big on Peter that it stops at his mid-thigh. 

A man wearing what Harley can only describe as weird cosplay for something he doesn't know steps through the orange circle. A cloak flutters behind him. 

“Doc!” Peter says, the happiness in his voice making Harley’s heart melt.  _ Seriously Harley, why are you so soft? Is this love at first sight or something? Wait no, you don’t love him. You just have a little crush on him. Right?  _

The man’s face softens as he looks at Peter before contorting with confusion. “Peter, why are you wearing a leather jacket? That is the exact opposite of you.” 

“Oh, it’s Harley’s. I had to make a joke about traveling back in time and it was the one thing that really made it work.” The cloak moves forward from behind the man and pushes the jacket off of Peter before wrapping itself around the small teen. “Aw, is cloakie the jealous type?” Peter pets the fabric and the man rolls his eyes. 

“Oh right, Stephen, this is Harley. Harley, this is my boyfriend Stephen. Peter mentioned him last night at dinner.” Tony wraps his arm around Stephen’s shoulders as he shakes Harley’s hand. 

“Pleasure to meet you,” Harley says automatically. 

“You...will be a good addition here.” Stephen smiles at him. Harley nods and then goes back to sit on the couch. Peter joins him a moment later, the cloak now following Stephen and Tony as they go to the elevator. Harley blinks as he realizes that Peter is  _ ripped.  _ The white v-neck he’s been wearing is sheer and clings to Peter’s biceps. Harley forces himself to look at Peter’s face as he begins to speak.

“Doc’s a little weird, but he means well. Sometimes he can see the future, and I think he may have with you? I’m not sure. It’s a little confusing.” Peter's brow furrows as he thinks about it. After a moment he shakes his head and claps his hands, grinning. “Anyways! I’ve been showing you things I like all day so far, so why don’t you show me something?” Peter looks at Harley hopefully and the taller can’t help but smile.

“Sure, I guess. I mean, I don’t really have a lot of things I like other than music.” Harley shrugs and looks at his jacket. After a moment, he walks over and picks it up off the floor. He comes back to stand in front of Peter and places it on the shorter's shoulders. “Don’t want your outfit to be missing the pivotal point.” He teases as Peter looks up at him. 

Peter isn’t sure why he feels warm and fuzzy at the gesture, but it’s a good feeling. He’s happy. So, he smiles big and puts his arms through the sleeves. He thinks for a moment as he looks at Harley.

“I have a weird idea.” 

“That’s how the best stories start.” 

Peter laughs and gets up, grabbing Harley’s hand and pulling him along to the pastel bedroom. “I think, since I kinda stole your style, you can wear some of my clothes and steal mine! It will probably freak out dad, which is always something funny.” Peter explains as he pushes Harley to sit on one of the beanbags under his bed, the blue one. Harley is surprised that it’s comfortable, but then remembers that this is Peter Stark, son of Tony Stark. Of course it’s comfortable. 

“Okay, sure. Make me soft.” Harley says. Inside his mind, something whispers  _ He’s already made you dolt, you dolt. You are  _ ** _letting _ ** _ him wear your  _ ** _leather jacket._ ** _ Not only that, you're  _ ** _encouraging it! _ ** _ He can’t make you any softer than you’ve become.  _ Harley ignores the (truthful) voice and watches Peter as he opens a drawer in his dresser. The shorter turns to Harley with a face of concentrations that may or may not be stored in Harley’s mind for a more ehm,  _ private _ time. 

“I think one of my sleeping shirts will give the same effect as my sweaters do, but I’m not sure about pants. I’ll go check to see if dad got you anything that would work, put this on.” Peter throws a knitted pastel sweater that’s just a gay flag. Harley chuckles and looks at Peter.

“You have a lot of pride stuff. I like it. I wish I had some more, in all honesty.” Shit. Did Harley just come out to Peter?

Peter gives him a smile. “Well, if you want anything in particular, just say it aloud. That’s how I got at least half of mine. The other half is gifts from people who dad and I donate money to for helping them.” Peter smiles softly at Harley and leaves the room. 

Harley looks at the fabric in his hand and shrugs, pulling off his Arctic Monkeys shirt before pulling on the soft sweater. It’s a little big on him, cutting off about a third of the way up his thigh and gives him sweater paws. He balls up the band t-shirt and looks around the little nook under the bed. He can see pictures of Peter and two other teenagers. He realizes that they must be Ned and MJ. He scans the other pictures, and sighs in relief when he sees Ned kissing a blonde girl in another picture. He shakes his head slightly. He can’t be acting like a lovesick fool. 

‘

He turns as Peter walks in holding a pair of light gray jeans. “These should probably work. I just need to find a flower crown and it will be good. Unless you’re comfortable with a little bit of make-up. In that case I could probably do something that would fit with all of this.” 

“Sure, why not go the full way? Though, I might have you take a picture that I can send to my sister to make her question everything she’s ever known.” Harley chuckles at the thought of Abbie seeing him like this. 

Peter doesn’t know why his brain short circuits as he looks at Harley. For some reason, seeing the other teen in his sweater fills him with the same warm feeling he’s been feeling when Harley is sweet to him. Peter takes a deep breath and hands Harley the jeans, gesturing to the bathroom. 

“You can go change in there, I’m going to go pick out a few flower crowns you can choose from.” Peter turns and walks to his closet to look at his flower crowns. He wants to get at least three, so that Harley can have a choice. He picks up one that he calls his “pride crown,” which is a bunch of small flowers in a rainbow that repeats twice, one with two shades of blue - one light and one dark - with white flowers, and one that’s just a simple small bud white crown with green ribbon. Peter nods to himself and moves back to his room, laying the crowns across his desk. 

Harley walks out of the bathroom and moves over to where Peter is, looking at the crowns. Harley casually puts his arm across Peter’s shoulder (in a totally platonic way, no way is he thinking about kissing Peter’s head or anything. Nope, just completely platonic thing happening here folks) and looks at the crowns. 

“You can choose any of them, but I will have to brush your hair so that it looks nice.” Peter looks at Harley through his eyelashes and Harley can feel his heart stutter. 

“Uh, how about the rainbow one. Let’s just go full rainbow. After all, I’m gay might as well just shout it to the world. Plus this can help me come out to Tony.” Harley laughs and swallows hard.  _ That’s one way to come out.  _ Peter’s gaze lingers on his adams apple as it bobs up and down. Peter blinks and nods. He grabs the pride crown and moves to the bathroom, Harley walking next to him arm still on him. 

“Okay, go sit in the chair next to the vanity. I’m going to go get hair styling products.” Peter moves to the bathroom counter as Harley sits in a vanity next to the door. It looks like something you would see in a movie star’s room, bright lights surrounding a mirror. There’s a mess of make-up products covering the counter of it and Harley is honestly a little scared. Abbie wasn’t too much into make-up, since it’s not cheap to get the good things. All she has is an eyeliner pencil, mascara and lipgloss. 

Peter comes back and leans Harley back in the chair, running his hands through the blond’s hair. “Okay, so I know you said full rainbow but for the make up I want to try and do something to compliment your eyes because I’ve never been allowed to go all out on someone with blue eyes before and I want to try something that will make them pop. Is that okay?” 

“Do whatever you want sugar. Hey, we could listen to some of my music while you do this. That way we can be bonding and learning about each other.” Harley feels himself relax as Peter’s fingers rub his scalp as the usually soft boy gets a feel for Harley’s hair. 

“Sure, why don’t you ask Fri to play your favorite artist?” 

“Okay, uh, FRIDAY play Waterparks.” 

The beginning of Stupid For You beings to play and Harley smiles softly. He can’t help but find the irony in the song playing. Peter seems to enjoy it if his head perking up and slight sway of his hips to the beat have anything to say about it. Harley loves the way that Peter hums along to the chorus as he begins to brush Harley’s hair and add some product that Harley doesn’t know the name of. Peter moves in front of Harley as the taller teen begins to quietly sing along with the music. 

“Just double dare me and I promise I’ll stay” Harley sings as he makes eye contact with Peter. Harley means it, he realizes. He would do anything Peter would ask for him. Somehow, this boy who Harley met less than 24 hours ago has torn down every single one of his walls. And Harley is okay with that. 

Peter finishes styling Harley’s hair quickly and gingerly places the flower crown on top of his hair that had more curls than usual as Silver begins to play. 

“How did you get it to be more curly?” Harley asks as Peter begins to look through the make-up.

“Sea salt spray, it helps add texture and since your hair is already textured it makes it even more so. It also adds volume so the crown is more on the hair than your head, which adds to the look.” Peter turns to smile at him before going back to the make-up. Peter takes off the leather jacket, commenting on not wanting it to get dirty and Harley resists running his hands along the abs that he can see through the shirt’s thin fabric.  _ That would be creepy, just sit still. _ A few more of the love songs by Waterparks play as Peter instructs Harley on what to do with his face as he puts on more products than Harley can count on his face. Finally, Easter Egg plays and Harley is relieved. 

Every time Harley opens his eyes he stares into Peter’s chocolate eyes (unless told to look somewhere else) and he just wants to lean forward and press his lips against Peter’s. (Like a lovesick fool.) But, instead he just takes in all that he can about Peter’s face. The small scar above his lip in the shape of a fishhook, the freckles across his nose and cheeks, a single straw curl that falls between his eyes. As Peter focuses on applying something to his lips, Harley looks at Peter’s. The top lip is thin and the bottom one is just a little bit fuller. Peter’s tongue is poking out from the corner of the lips. 

“Okay, I think that looks good. Just have to apply a coat of this to your lips so that the lipstick doesn't smudge or get anywhere and we’ll be solid!” Peter applies the product carefully and moves away. 

Harley looks into the mirror and is pleasantly surprised. His eyes have light blue with a white eyeliner. Glitter shines off the lids and Harley smiles. He recognizes contouring from a youtube video Abbie had watched with him once. But the main thing that Harley stares at is his lips. They’re in vertical lines of the rainbow with glitter on them. Harley smiles and Peter visibly relaxes. 

“This looks really good, Petey. Now, how about taking a picture of me to send to my sister?” Harley smiles as Peter nods and grabs the leather jacket. Harley hands his new phone to Peter (Tony had stolen the old one and probably burned it).

“Friday, turn off the music and get the area next to my window prepared for pictures,” Peter says as he guides Harley to the window overlooking NYC. Peter positions Harley in front of the window, FRIDAY making the lighting better. Peter tells Harley to do many different poses, like hands clasped in front of him, scratching the back of his neck, and a few silly ones, including a slightly flirty one. 

“Alright, those should be good. Let’s go find dad and scare him.” Peter hands the phone back to Harley, who quickly selects one where he looks shy and sends it to Abbie with no explanation. The duo make their way to the living room before Peter asks FRIDAY where his dad is.

“Boss is upstairs with your pizzas.” The AI supplies. The pair quickly go up in the elevator and walk out to see Tony and Stephen at a dining table with four boxes of pizza, along with a woman that Harley had only seen on magazine covers. Pepper Potts.

The adults turn to look, and Tony doesn't hide his surprise and confusion. He blinks a few times, rubs his eyes and stares at Harley. Stephen chuckles and nods to the boys. Pepper looks at Tony and exclaims, “This is the boy who you were scared about hurting Peter? Wow Tony. I mean, sure the whole rocker thing that you’ve shown me is a little stereotypical but if someone gets make-up applied by Peter, they will only defend Peter.” Pepper smiles and walks over. She gives a hug to Peter and then extends her hand to Harley. “Pepper Potts, nice to meet you Harley.” 

“Nice to meet you too, Miss Potts.” 

“Oh, please. Just call me Pepper.” 

“Alright, Pepper. And you’re right. If anyone hurts Petey I will probably murder them.” Oh crap, he didn’t mean to say that. Pepper chuckles and walks with the two teenagers to the table. Harley’s phone buzzes and he take sit out to see a text from Abbie.

**Monster From The Void**

HOLY WHAT

HARLEY

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

WAS IT THAT STARK BOY

I can kinda see his reflection in the glass?

HARLEY IS HE WEARING YOUR LEATHER???

He quickly types out a reply, and hits send.

**Potato Boi**

we switched styles to mess with tony

He puts his phone away and grabs a plate, loading it with pizza. Peter does the same and Harley notices the olives and pineapple on it. “Oh, that looks good Petey.” Harley sits at a seat by no one and Peter frowns. 

The shorter sits next to Harley and trades a slice of pizza from both of them. “So does yours, let’s share.” Peter smiles and Harley knows, for sure, that’s he’s in deep. But he doesn’t really care. Not if it means he will be able to make Peter smile and laugh more.

Peter doesn’t know why he feels so comfortable around Harley. He likes it when Harley smiles. Maybe they’re just really fast friends. He smiles at the thought and takes a bite of the pizza Harley had ordered. It was really good. Well, that makes sense it’s bacon and cheese. Peter smiles at Harley as he takes a bite of the olive and pineapple pizza, nodding. 

“Good choice, sugar.” 

“Thanks Harley.” Peter then hums. “I should come up with a nickname for you. Like dad calls you Harls but I want one that only I use. Those ones are special.” Peter looks at Harley and begins to think.  _ Country Boy? Rockstar? He’s really pretty. Maybe something about that? Wait, why am I thinking he’s pretty? Well, he has really nice hair and eyes. And it’s normal to think that friends are pretty! He’s pretty like a- _ ”Princess!” 

Harley looks at Peter confused as Stephen nods to Tony and Pepper, smiles coming onto all of the adults faces; Stephen motions for them to leave and they do, unnoticed by the two teens.

“Why did you just randomly say princess?” 

“That’s going to be your nickname that only I call you by!” Peter smiles at Harley, who begins to blush slightly under all the make-up.

“Why?” Harley gives a nervous giggle. 

“Well I think you’re pretty and princesses are always described as pretty, so it makes sense!” Peter gives Harley a smile and takes another bite of pizza.

Harley is freaking out. Peter just called him  _ Pretty.  _ That has to mean something, right? Did Peter feel the same? Maybe? Or maybe Peter’s just really nice? Yeah, that could be it too. Harley just continues to eat his pizza, watching in surprise as Peter grabs seconds. And then thirds. And then fourths. Jesus, how much does this boy eat? 

Eventually, Tony comes into the room once more. He seems stressed. “You okay Tony?” Harley looks at the man and he noids.

“Yeah uh Petey can you go check on your project in the lab? Make sure it’s ready for tomorrow.” Tony smiles at his son.

“Okay? Bye dad, bye Princess.” Peter enters the elevators and goes down to the labs. Harley looks at Tony, confusion on his face as the man sits down with a sigh, rubbing his face with his hands. 

“Okay, Harls. I need you to promise me something, please. I know this seems weird but I’m begging you to do this. If Peter ends up getting bullied, and if the person says ‘You’re probably not even related to Tony Stark,’ I need you to call me. I’ll explain later, but you have to do this.” 

Harley looks at Tony. The man is pleading the teenager with his eyes. It’s clearly something big. “Sure thing, old man. You okay?” 

“Yeah, well no not really but I’ll explain all of that later. Just please don’t think with your fists.” Tony pats Harley on the shoulder. 

“Alright Tony. I won’t mess with anyone who hurts Peter.” Harley smiles at the man. 

“Cool, now why don’t we go join Peter in the lab? He needs to tell you something.” Harley nods and enters the elevator with Tony. The elevator travels quickly and soon, they are entering a hallway with 4 doors. “This entire floor is going to be for you two to work on stuff. Everything but this hallway is a lab. This hallway just makes sure that things are at least partially organized. I may ask you guys to come into my lab, which you will need to either be given permission or told to come into to actually get in. We still need to get your ID with you - if you ever leave the tower you’ll need it to come back in. Of course, it’s really so that the forehead of security doesn’t get grumpy.” Tony looks into one of the doors that has windows and grins. 

“What are behind all of these doors?” Harley asks before Tony can open one. 

“Oh, right, well this one is the chemistry lab, that one is anything mechanical or engineering, that’s mostly storage, but Peter has a few robots in there that he’s made that don’t help in the labs. And that’s the bathroom.” Tony points at each door as he informs Harley of what’s in each one.

“Okay, good to know.” Harley gives Tony a shit eating grin and the two enter the chemistry room. 

The leather jacket was carefully placed on the back of a chair that was across the room from the short teenager. He looks up from whatever for a moment before turning back to his project. Harley looks around the room, taking in the room. He isn't really in his element here - more of a mechanical person - but can still appreciate the large number of supplies. There’s cabinets warning of flammable materials, a large periodic table, and shelves filled with equipment. 

“Peter, you need to tell Harley about you know what. Doctor’s orders.” Tony’s tone says no nonsense and the man leaves, patting Harley on the back. Harley looks at Peter confused. He just sighs and rolls his eyes. 

“Damn doc. Well, if he says so then I really have to.” Peter mutters to himself under his breath. He gets up and walks over to Harley. But he passes by Harley and goes to the wall and begins to climb up it. He climbs up to the ceiling and walks on it, stopping where he’s face to face with Harley. 

“What?” Harley says looking at Peter in shock and confusion. 

“I’m Spider-Man.” Peter says before jumping off the ceiling. Harley quickly reaches for him to stop him from falling and probably cracking his skull open. He catches Peter bridal style, his chocolate eyes looking at Harley with surprise and appreciation. Once more, Harley can feel himself fall for the boy a little bit more.

“Okay, that’s...okay. Just ...don't flip off of ceilings near me?” Harley can’t really believe what’s going on. He surely must be in some sort of fever dream. But, looking at Peter still in his arms he doesn’t want it to be. He puts Peter down and wanders over to the chair with his leather jacket on it, rubbing at his face. 

“Do you want to know about anything?” 

“Everything.” 

“Oh-okay well, when I was 14 I went on a field trip to Oscorp. They were experimenting on spiders or something and I ended up getting a little lost on my way back from the bathroom. I ended up getting bitten by one of the spiders - Dr. Banner thinks it was radioactive and I trust him when it comes to radioactivity - and got really sick. It lasted for about 24 hours and dad was freaking out. We knew what had happened by the time I was ready, and I ended up getting some powers.” Peter pauses and looks to Harley, checking to make sure he understands.

“Oscorp, radioactive spiders and you were sick,” Harley sums up. 

“Yeah, uh, my powers are kinda interesting. I can stick to anything, including others which can be helpful. I also have really enhanced senses and can also sense if there’s danger nearby. I call it my Spidey Sense but dad and my aunt May call it Peter Tingle, which just sounds...off.” Harley nods as Peter continues, “I also have fangs and if I wanted to kill someone, I could use them since there's a toxin. I grew venom sacs and everything. I can also turn invisible. That’s usually on command but sometimes it’s a fight or flight reflex, which kinda sucks in school because I get bullied and uh yeah..” Peter looks down and Harley just wants to punch whoever bullied Peter. But he remembers what Tony had said.

“Well, now you’ll have me helping with your bullies, sugar.” Harley smiles at Peter and the shorter returns a small one of his own. “Also, now we can be massive pranksters. Do you know when the Avengers will be here?” 

“Oh, well most of them just stay up at the compound but I think I heard dad and doc talking about inviting them down this weekend.” 

“Peter, will you join me in pranking not only the Avengers, but your father and his weird boyfriend?” 

Peter laughs and nods, wondering what Harley has in mind. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The elevator opens and the boys look to see Tony fuming. “Why is FRIDAY refrencing those stupid videos?” he asks. He’s just a little frustrated, and Peter covers his mouth as he laughs while Harley answers.
> 
> “Oh, we thought that it would be a great bonding activity to give your AI some pizzazz.” Harley finishes with jazz hands and a smirk before leaning back into the cushions. 
> 
> “Plus. she’s not just referencing vines. She’s also referencing the greatest comedian of all time, John Mulaney.” Petter adds from his comfortable position in the jacket. 
> 
> “Is that why she told me, ‘Get some rest tall child.’?” Tony asks as he ruffles Peter’s hair. Tony’s smiling, his tone more teasing than accusatory.
> 
> “Yes, because you are a tall child and you need to sleep. Go take a nap or something.” Peter says, trying to fix his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - the Q word is used as a blanket term for LGBT+ because having LGBT+ twice in the same paragraph was too awkward for me

It’s late afternoon when the first prank happens. Harley and Peter are sitting on the couch, watching a vine compilation on the TV. They have yet to change out of each other’s styles, Peter curled up in a ball under Harley’s leather jacket. He feels safe with the scent of Harley around him, consuming him. There’s also the scent of leather, but it’s also calming. The material is something meant to be an armor for Harley on his motorcycle, protecting his body if he ends up crashing and skidding across the road. The only evidence that Peter is actually there is his head poking out the top. 

The elevator opens and the boys look to see Tony fuming. “Why is FRIDAY refrencing those stupid videos?” he asks. He’s just a little frustrated, and Peter covers his mouth as he laughs while Harley answers.

“Oh, we thought that it would be a great bonding activity to give your AI some pizzazz.” Harley finishes with jazz hands and a smirk before leaning back into the cushions. 

“Plus. she’s not just referencing vines. She’s also referencing the greatest comedian of all time, John Mulaney.” Petter adds from his comfortable position in the jacket. 

“Is that why she told me, ‘Get some rest tall child.’?” Tony asks as he ruffles Peter’s hair. Tony’s smiling, his tone more teasing than accusatory.

“Yes, because you are a tall child and you need to sleep. Go take a nap or something.” Peter says, trying to fix his hair.

Tony gasps, “You can’t make me.” 

“FRIDAY probably can. And she will. We also added some protocols to make sure you actually take care of yourself.” ‘Harley fails to mention that he also created a protocol so that if the kid who bullies Peter ever steps into the building FRIDAY will say, “Go suck a dick, suck a dick, suck a motherfucking dick, suck a huge or small dick.” 

“So, how did you find out?” Peter asks as he finishes fixing the mop of brown curls atop his head. 

“I threw a paper away from across the room. She said, ‘Whoever threw that paper, your mom’s a hoe.’” 

Peter and Harlye burst out laughing. FRIDAY automatically says, “To make a long fuckin story short, I put a whole bag of jelly beans up my ass.” The teenagers laughed even harder, Harley wrapping his arms around his middle as Peter begins to cry from how much he’s laughing.

“FRIDAY you don’t even have an ass!” Tony exclaims in his confusion. 

FRIDAY quickly responds, “I can’t believe you’ve done this.” 

“I really-I really think we shouldn’t have added the extra laugh juice protocol,” Harley gets out before FRIDAY references another of the internet videos.

“So I was sitting there, barbaque sauce on my tiddies.” Harley and Peter laguh even harder, Tony wondering what the fuck is wrong with them and if they actually just made a virus for FRIDAY in their bonding. 

“FRIDAY YOU DON’T EVEN _ HAVE  _ TIDDIES!” Tony’s yelling throws the teenagers into another bought of giggles. Eventually their laughter dies down, tears streaming down both of their faces. 

“That was perfect,” Harley says as he turns to Peter. Peter nods, looking at his father. Tony wasn’t mad, just confused and worried. Why was his son entertained by something so...weird? Maybe it was a generational thing since Harley had laughed as hard, if not harder, than the younger Stark. 

“I’m going to go back to the workshop.” Tony sighs as he walks to the elevator.

“No! FRIDAY activate Baby Tony protocol!” Harley says quickly.

“Affirmative. Boss, I’m going to have to lock you in your penthouse until you get at least 3 hours of sleep.” FRIDAY opens the elevator doors for Tony, who scoffs.

“I’ll just take the stairs then.” 

“Doors to the downstairs area is currently locked for you boss, unless there is an emergency that requires you to vacate the tower you are only allowed on the current floor and the penthouse, and in the penthouse only your bedroom is available.” 

Tony groans and drags his feet to the elevator, acting more like a toddler than a father. Once the doors closed, the two teenagers looked at each other.

“That went well.” Peter says quietly. He gives Harley a soft smile. 

“Yeah. I’m gonna get started on the buns for burgers tonight, since the dough has to rise for three hours.” Harley gets up and moves to the kitchen. He pulls on an apron and pushes the sleeves of the sweater. He thinks for a moment. “Hey, sugar do you have any large hair ties or something?” Harley asks. 

Peter nods and slips his arms through the sleeves of the jacket to avoid losing the warmth and moves to his room. Harley watches and feels the same warmth in his chest that he’s felt ever since he met Peter. He just wants to wrap up the Stark heir in his arms and never let go. He wants to know everything there is to know about him. But really, Harley just wants to make Peter happy. 

Peter comes back with a few large hair ties and Harley quickly uses them to keep his sleeves in place right above his elbow. Harley thinks for a moment, looking at the holotable integrated into the kitchen. 

“Hey, FRIDAY? Can you put up the bun recipe I have on my phone up on this holotable?” He asks whilst washing his hands. The AI complies silently, and Harley quickly reads over the Allrecipes webpage. He gets out the ingredients and equipment, marveling at the kitchen aid and the high quality ingredients. 

He quickly gets to work, combining the flour, yeast and warm water until smooth and letting it rest. “FRIDAY set a time for 12 minutes, please.” Harley says, moving to combine the egg, melted butter, sugar and salt together. A timer appears in the corner of the hologram where the recipe is and Harley smiles. He really likes not having to set a timer himself.

Peter is watching curiously from a bar stool, doe eyes taking in everything Harley is doing. 

“Did you know that baking is a lot of chemistry, Petey?” Harley asks as he orders some aged white cheddar to top the burgers to be delivered later in the day.

“No. Care to explain?” Peter asks, curiosity in his tone.

“Well, let's take a look at the yeast first. Right now it’s beginning to bubble. That is because enzymes in the yeast and flour are causing starch molecules to break down into simple sugars, along with producing gluten. It begins to metabolize those sugars, producing an alcoholic like liquid and carbon dioxide. Once it’s foamy from doing so, we add more sugar along with other flavorings - since yeast gives it that savory bread flavor - and fats, in this case salt and butter. That way it will be able to grow more. After that, we knead the dough to produce more gluten and leave it to rest. The yeast continues to feed on the sugar and causes air bubbles to form in the dough. That makes it so that it’s fluffy and not just a hard piece of baked flour. Baking the bread stops the process and leaves the small air bubbles we can see in a loaf of bread.” Harley looks to Peter, who is nodding, understanding the concept.

“So, the yeast is helping it rise, and that’s why you have to leave it for three hours?” Peter looks at the recipe that is still being displayed, taking mental notes on the process and connecting everything Harley is saying with the directions. 

“Precisely, dalin’. Though, after two hours I’m going to be shaping them into buns and then they will rest for another hour. There’s more things that can help baked goods rise, like baking soda, which is also known as sodium bicarbonate. It’s combined with an acid like buttermilk, vinegar or lemon juice to produce air bubbles. It’s more commonly used in what’s known as a ‘quick bread’ which is things like muffins and pancakes. Baking powder is baking soda already combined with an acid.” 

“So, you only use baking soda when you have an acid, but if there’s no acid you use baking powder?” Peter asks, making sure he understands.

“Exactly. Some recipes call for both to maximise how much it can rise. It won’t be as much as yeast, since yeast is a fungus consuming food and producing waste, but it helps cakes rise. Which is why you always fill a cake pan halfway.” The timer rings and Harley moves to add the butter mixture and combines it.

“That’s actually really interesting.” Peter watches as Harley lifts the top of the kitchen aid and scoops the remaining flour into the bowl of the standing mixer using a measuring cup.

“Yeah, it’s basically the most that I think about chemistry outside of school. More of an engineering and mechanical guy myself.” Harley shrugs as he moves to get the dough hook attachment and swaps the whisk attachment for the white curve. He tosses the whisk attachment into the sink and puts the top of the mixer back down. “Hey, FRIDAY? Can you please set a time for 5 minutes and 30 seconds?” The timer starts once more, appearing in the same spot on the hologram. Harley turns to the sink to wash the whisk, but Peter is already there sans jacket. 

Harley smiles at the domesticity of it all and he yearns for a life where he and Peter are like this all the time. Where Harley cooks and bakes for the smaller boy, and Peter helps him in anyway he can. A life where Harley would be able to go up to Peter and wrap his arms around the boy’s waist and kiss his cheek in appreciation. A life where Peter would turn and kiss Harley’s lips, the two getting lost in the touch of each other. A life where they would cuddle on the couch and watch TV after the dough is placed to rise. They would share kisses between episodes of shows and hold each other close. Peter would find his way into Harley’s lap and lay his head back under Harley’s chin, and Harley would hold Peter delicately. It’s a life that Harley wishes for, and Harley really can’t help but wonder if it’s a possibility. They get along swell, and they both enjoyed the other’s company. Peter was Queer - that much is obvious. But Harley doesn’t know exactly what Peter is. It is an akward thing to ask - but Harley honestly doesn’t know if Peter is using things that are generally paired with the LGBT+ community to show he’s part of it or if Peter is acually gay. Peter could be aromantic or asexual and use the rainbow flag as a blanket. Harley doubted Peter identified as female, since he seems comfortable with masculine pronouns and didn’t seem to have dysphoria when it comes to the tight v-neck. 

Harley is brought out of his contemplative thoughts by the timer. He quickly goes over to the dough and pokes at it with a silicone spatula to make sure that it’s not too sticky. Harley nods when nothing sticks to the plastic and quickly dusts a counter with some flour before depositing the dough onto it. 

“Petey, can you rinse and dry this out real quick before adding that olive oil and making sure that the bowl is coated in it?” Harley asks as he sets said bowl next to him.

“Sure thing!” Peter moves to complete the task given to him quickly as Harley forms the dough into a round shape, tucking the ends underneath. Peter hands over the oiled bowl and Harley places the dough into it gently before putting aluminum foil over the top.

“Great, now I just need a warm place to keep this.” Harley looks around and Peter thinks for a moment.

“How about over by the window? Sunlight can help warm it!” Peter says, pointing at a section of the counter that has sun on it all the time (unless it’s night of course) and Harley nods.

“Yeah that can work. FRIDAY, set a timer for 2 hours.” Harley places the bowl in the sunlight and Peter nods. They walk back over to the couch, Harley taking the hair ties off his arms and rubbing at the indents in his skin and Peter grabbing the jacket off the barstool he had been sitting on before moving to help Harley. 

“Do you want to watch anything in particular?” Peter asks as they settle into the couch. Peter is next to Harley, his legs pulled up once more. Instead of pulling them to his chest, he tucks them partially under and to the side. The jacket is on the back of the couch, leaving Peter in the see-through t-shirt and black ripped jeans. Harley put his arm on the back of the couch, silently hoping that Peter will lean on him. 

“How about John Mulany? Kid Gorgeous to be specific.” Harley sets his seat into reclining mode and watches as Peter slowly but surely starts to gravitate to him. Peter puts on the Netflix special and leans back. When the title card comes on the screen a minute in, he rests his head on Harley’s chest. 

Harley smiles as Peter moves a little closer before resting his arm around the boy instead. This is nice. Really nice. He can almost pretend he’s living the life he yearns for like this. He knows that he’s not, though. Not when Peter doesn’t hold his hand, or kiss his neck. But, the action makes Harley wonder if there’s more. He wonders if Peter feels the same. So, Harley decides that he will find a way to figure it out before asking Peter out. He didn’t want there to be any awkwardness since they're going to probably work together for the rest of their lives. And sure, there’s the possibility of a break up. But Harley can’t see himself ever wanting to hurt Peter. He could only see himself working to make sure that they were both happy. 

Once the zoo joke started, Harley said, “I’ve never been to a zoo.” Peter gasps and looks at him, eyes wide. From his position, Harley could watch as Peter’s irises dilated. That was a sign of someone liking the person they’re looking at, right? At least, that’s what the internet says.

“We are totally going to the zoo tomorrow. And maybe some sightseeing. If dad doesn’t let us I will literally steal a car.” 

“Or we could take my bike. Though it will be annoying with all the stopping. But Tony can pay off a few tickets if I break only a few traffic laws.” Harley could imagine Peter behind him on the Harley Davidson Road King, arms wrapped around his waist. 

Peter giggles and nods, turning to lay his head back on Harley’s chest. As they continue to watch, Peter’s left hand makes a journey. It started next to his head on Harley’s chest, but by 10 minutes in, Peter’s hand was on Harley’s stomach. Harly didn’t think much of it at first, letting Peter do whatever. Harley shifted a little and placed his hand that’s not around Peter lower on his stomach. By the end of the JJ Bittenbinder skit, Peter’s pinky and ring finger was touching Harley’s hand. 

Harley’s heart was beating quick from the touch. It felt like electricity. Peter nuzzles into him, sighing in content. The shorter boy didn’t know why he wants to cuddle with Harley, but it’s nice. Harley is strong under him and even though his heart is beating fast for no apparent reason, the  _ ba-dum ba-dum  _ makes Peter feel safe. He slowly interlocks his fingers with Harley’s, giving the other time to stop it if he wants. But just like with the cuddling, Harley let it happen and then assured Peter it’s okay. This time, Harley gives a gentle squeeze of Peter’s hand as Mulany starts to talk about college. 

Harley is content. It helps that Peter wanted to be close to him. He wants to be close to Peter. He wants to make sure Peter is always safe. But, there was the Spider-Man thing. Sure, Tony had probably made the suit safer than anything else, but Harley is still a little scared. He wants to help protect Peter somehow, even when Peter is off being a vigilante. Maybe he could find a way to give himself superpowers. Maybe he could turn himself into a cyborg. Like Iron Man, but better. 

“I think...I like this,” Peter whispers as Mulany starts to talk about politics. He looks at Harley’s face. “I like being close to you.” Peter looks at Harley and Harley stars back. Peter hopes that Harley can understand what he’s trying to convey. He hopes Harley knows he feels safe in his arms. Peter can’t quite form the words to say so.

Harley doesn’t know what to say. His gaze softens and he holds Peter closer. He loves being able to hold him this close. He wants nothing more than to kiss Peter’s head, let him know that Harley likes being close to him too. Harley wants to say that he will protect Peter, no matter what. Then Peter stiffens at the mention of Nazis in the show. Harley frowns and rubs circles into his back, hoping it will help. He doesn’t like Peter being scared. Peter does relax after a moment, closing his eyes. He breaths in the scent of Harley and it’s comforting. He just wants Harley to stay with him like this forever. He just wants Harley to hold him and maybe kiss him. But, he doesn’t know why. He’ll have to talk to Ned and MJ about it. 

Once he’s sure Peter knows that he’s safe, Harley asks, “Are Nazis something you’re scared of, darlin’?” 

Peter nods, “My mom was ethnically Jewish, so I’m half Jewish,” he explains. He looks at Harley, a little bit of fear in his gaze. Harley just hums and rubs Peter’s back some more. Harley already didn’t like Nazis, but he definitely didn’t like them now, knowing that they would probably hurt Peter (or at least try). He vows to protect Peter for as long as he can. It doesn’t matter than he’s one of the vigilantes in the city. Harley will find a way to help him with that. 

As the show continues, Harley says, “What if we saw him? Just walking his dog in a stroller?” Harley’s trying to distract Peter from the Nazi talk, and Peter is grateful. 

“I would probably cry.” 

“Don’t do that. You’re too pretty to cry.”

“Thanks, princess.” 

Peter seems to relax even more into Harley, and the taller boy loves it. He wants to remember everything about this - the way that Peter smells like apples and vanilla, the feeling of his curls on Harley’s chin and neck, the pressure of Peter’s head on his chest, the feeling of fingers that fit with his own like a puzzle piece, the way that Harley can feel every breath Peter takes with his arm around the boy. 

The show ends with a little under an hour left of waiting until it’s time to shape the burger buns. The boys decide to watch more John Mulany, this time choosing The Comeback Kid. It looks like it’s going to be an entire marathon of all three shows on Netflix. 

The intro music calms down Peter in a way that he didn’t know he needed. He and Harley both laugh at the joke with Petunia telling John when he will die in French. Peter loves the way that his head moves with Harley’s chest. He could get used to this. And maybe he will. Peter is suddenly hit with a wave of fatigue and can’t focus on the show. Instead he can only fixate on the way that Harley holds him close. He can feel how much the older cares. It was a little scary - someone caring for him this much within 24 hours. But, Harley is safe. The constant buzz of his Spidey sense that he didn’t even know he had is gone near Keener. Peter can trust Harley, more than he can trust his own father. And he does trust Harley. Peter tries to keep his eyes open and find a way to tell Harley this. But, his eyelids feel heavy and he succumbs to the peacefulness of sleep. 

Harley knows that Peter is sleeping. The deep even breaths that raised his arm is comforting. He just wants to live the life John is joking about on the TV with Peter - or a version of it at least. Getting married, buying a house, talking about children. He knows that he is getting carried away. It is scary in a way, but Harley also finds comfort in it. He wonders if this was what authors are trying to describe when they talk about love at first sight and soulmates, or kindred spirits. Harley knew a girl back in Rose Hill who would talk about past lives and how once one met someone they were close to in a life before they would have an instant connection. Maybe - just maybe - she was onto something. And maybe that’s what is happening with Peter and Harley.

Harley decides to let Peter sleep while finishing the show. He could just hold the boy and pretend that they were something more than friends. The show is great, Harley laughing at the jokes about weed dealers, relating to not wanting to be looked at when he was 12, and enjoying the jokes about being an office temp. He thinks for a second and decides to make a new protocol for FRIDAY when it rains. 

“Hey FRIDAY, make a note in the folder of Peter and I’s pranks about a protocol that you say ‘Ah! One feels like a duck splashing around in all this wet! And when one feels like a duck one is happy!’ when it rains. Add the possibility of something happening when Petey or I say ducklings. Possibly saying that Tony is too old to be a duckling.”

“Affirmative. Your timer is set to go off in 11 minutes.” FRIDAY’s voice seems to be low to avoid disturbing Peter.

“Alright, uh just be quiet about it when it goes off. I don’t want to wake up Petey.”

“Affermitve, Mr. Keener.” 

Harley makes more notes on what he could have FRIDAY reference, including “Little honky ass,” and “Eat ass, suck a dick and sell drugs.” As the show comes to a close with the last story, Harley watches Peter. He tries to memorize things about the small boy. He just wants to kiss Peter. 

FRIDAY informs Harley of the timer being complete with six minutes left in the show. He thinks for a minute before grabbing a few pillows and replacing himself with them. But, he can’t get his hand out of Peter’s easily. Harley smiles fondly as he realizes that Peter is unconsciously using his abilities to keep Harley near him. Harley acts without thinking, kissing the back of Peter’s hand gently before prying it away, pulling away while making sure that Peter stays on the couch. Harley doesn’t hesitate as he kisses Peter’s forehead gently before moving back to the kitchen.

Harley dusts the counter with flour once more and takes the dough out of the bowl onto the counter. It had risen significantly in the two hours and Harley is happy with it. He forms the dough into a rectangle and cuts it into 8 equal pieces before forming them into balls similar to the one he had formed in the bowl. He lines a baking sheet with a silicone mat and dust them lightly with flour. He grabs some plastic wrap and puts it on top of the dough. He places the sheet where the bowl had been and nods.

He moves back to where Peter is after setting a timer for 1 hour. He moves Peter once more, but this time Peter is laying almost entirely on Harley. Soft brown curls tickle Harley’s cheek and soft puffs of air heat up his neck. The older feels himself grow drowsy and feels asleep, one arm around Peter. His other hand holds onto Peter’s, finding comfort in the way that their hands just seem to fit together. 

Stephen isn’t sure what to do when he walks into the living room that is on the teenagers’ floor. His boyfriend had asked him to make sure that Peter would be safe with Harley around, and most realities he was as long as Harley wouldn’t hold back his feelings. He knows that it’s a wonderful thing that Harley and Peter are sleeping on the couch the way they are. But, he fears what will happen if things don’t go according to plan. If Harley thinks with his fists more than his brain. Tony had intervened to help with that problem, and all realities where Harley listens to the advice guarantees that Peter will be safe. But if Harley goes and punches someone on his first day of school things will go awry, not just for Peter, but for SI as well. After all, an heir dying is a good way for stocks to drop, but not as bad as two heirs dying. 

The Cloak of Levitation drapes itself over the boys, tucking itself around Peter more than Harley. The doctor smiles and decides to look around a little bit. On the counter is buns resting, not too large but still rising. There’s a few counters covered in flour and the man doesn’t hesitate in cleaning them off. While at one point he wouldn’t have done so, he decides that helping take care of his boyfriend’s son entails in making sure that the younger Stark’s floor is semi-clean. 

When the timer goes off and wakes the boys, Stephan decides to make himself scarce. He quickly forms a portal to his boyfriend's workshop, expecting to see him tinkering with something. After being informed of the boys’ plan to stop Tony from being sleep deprived by FRIDAY, he goes to wake up the man he loves. 

Back on the teen floor, Harley is trying to ignore the timer. He pulls the warm thing on his chest closer and nuzzles into the smell of apples and vanilla. Really, Harley could probably just stay like this forever. He hears a content sigh from above and smiles. 

“Hey, princess. We have to get up,” A gentle voice whispers into Harley’s ear. 

“Five more minutes,” Harley grumbles out. Part of the warmth goes away and before he knows it, Harley is being lifted into the air. He lets out a scream and opens his eyes, looking around. Peter his holding him with one arm around his waist. The other arm’s hand is busy holding Harley’s hand. Peter moves to the kitchen and deposits the boy on the clean counter, letting go of Harley’s hand and looking at the recipe.

“FRIDAY, set the oven to 375 fahrenheit.” He says, noticing the formed bun. His questioning gaze lands on Harley’s still waking face.

“You fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you. Then I went back and ended up falling asleep.” Harley shrugs and Peter questions why Harley had ended up under him if the taller teenager had gotten up from cuddling. Did he purposely go and lay under Peter? The young Stark found comfort in the thought, his heart beating rapidly for an unknown reason. He needs to go talk to MJ about this. Ned would probably not pay attention to the whole feelings thing and MJ is blunt enough to tell him what she thinks about it all.

“Alright. Can you do what you need to? I need to go talk to my friend about something,” Peter says looking back at the recipe. The rest is simple - brush the buns with beat egg and top with sesame seeds before putting it in the oven. Harley nods and Peter smiles. He leaves to go into his bedroom after grabbing his phone.

He video calls MJ, praying that they will answer. Sure enough after two rings the face of one of Peter’s best friends comes onto the screen.

“Hey nerd, what’s up?” the demi-girl asks, looking at Peter for a second before focusing on her sketchbook.

“I don’t understand my feelings about the dude dad brought up and I need to talk about him and the way he makes me feel and figure everything out.” 

“Are they good or bad feelings? Because I will deck him if he’s hurt you.”

“They’re good! I-I really like him. He makes me feel safe? And - so my spidey sense is constantly buzzing, even near dad, right? But around Harley, it’s not there. He’s really funny and he cuddled me and we fell asleep and my heart beats fast near him and I kinda want to kiss him?”   
  


“Sounds like quite the crush Stark.” MJ says. All of a sudden it all makes sense. The comfort, the way that Peter wants them to always be near each other, the vastness that was Harley. 

“Oh”

“Wait, you didn’t realize you had a crush on him? Gods, Peter. You may be a genius but sometimes you are an idiot.” 

“H-hey!” 

“So, is there a possibility he may like you back?”

“Uh I mean maybe? We were cuddling on the couch and I fell asleep. When I woke up, he was under me. He had moved to get something he’s baking setup to rest and came back to cuddle me in a more intimate way?” 

“Sounds like he likes you. Knowing you, you aren’t going to make the first move. Just don’t reject him and you’ll be fine, baby Stark. Is that all?”

“Yeah, MJ thanks.”

“Course. Now, go be your adorable self and get a boyfriend.” 

“I don't-” Peter stops as MJ hangs up and sighs. Okay he has a crush on Harley. And Harley possibly has a crush on him. Cool. Great. Amazing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come find me on tumblr Hubofinsanity


End file.
